A little back ground first..... I just got my new motor back from JW. I upgraded to the polished aluminum components,and the detailed valve covers, etc. It looks absolutely beautiful. However, my engine bay in my '68 riviera looks terrible. The previous owner did a spray can paint job of the inner fenders, radiator support, hinges, braker booster, bottom of the hood, etc. He didn't prime it or even clean it. It's flaking off and looks absolutely terrible. I just can't put that beautiful motor in the engine bay like that. I have to repaint the engine bay area first, and I need some advice from people. Here's what I was thinking on doing: Take off the front clip, strip the inner fenders, radiator support, and misc brackets to bare metal and have them repainted. Clean the grease and dirt of the frame, and at least make that look clean again. When the front is off, and the frame is cleaned, drop the motor and tranny in (it would be much easier with nothing in the way), and then bolt the front back on after the motor is in place. Here's my questions for you. 1. What color is correct, or at least close, to the factory inner hood color. It does not have to be OEM color, just close. I do want it to look like new in there, but if it's off by 1/10 of a shade, I can live with it. I will have a friend spray the parts for me but i need a recomendation on quality primer/paint/etc. 2. How would you recomend stripping these parts? I can media blast them or chemical strip them. Does either way work better. 3. What do you do about the bolts? The bolts that are holding the radiator support to the inner fenders, and the bolts for the inner fenders themselves? Right now they are painted the same color as everything else. Is this correct? If it is, how do you fasten the bolts without ruining the paint? As soon as you touch them with a wrench, they will mar. Your advice would be trully appreciated. Thanks, Brett Schmahl
I would start with pressure washing the engine compartment. That will get you going in the right dirrection.
that was on the agenda for tomorrow afternoon. Powerwash, degrease, scrub, etc. A good thorough cleaning. Brett
